On Writing, Practice, and Talent

Well. I haven't done a good old post for quite some time. I am sitting here at the computer (which I hope you would have already guessed) trying to think of something to write about. Words fail me.

I'll start off with writing. People always give you sets of rules to follow (I'm talking specifically about fiction here). Do this, do that, make sure you don't do this, and make sure you do that... you get the idea. I was reading a book about writing a couple days ago, and one thing it said struck me like a sledgehammer striking a watermellon. The book, which by the way has been in print since 1965, said that you shouldn't listen to anyone elses rules. What's right for them might not apply to you or your specific scenario. Rules begin by taking away options and limiting you, something you definately don't want to do in writing. You must develop your own rules, and the way you do that is by writing. Practicing.

Speaking of practicing...

Everyone always says practice is the key. Practice enough and you'll become good. Say you practiced something 10 hours a day,7 days a week, 365 days a year. Could you be the best in the world? An interesting question: how big of a role does natural God given talent play in skill? Well to tell the truth, I think some people are just good at some things, and other people just naturally stink. I think this might sound weird to many people because of the way today's culture works. It's all about everyone can do everything, we're all equal, we're all winners, we can do it if we practice.... To tell the truth, that is not the truth. At all. God has given us all different level's of skill and talent. God doesn't dole out equal amounts of talent or intelligence to everyone, precisely measuring how much he gives to everyone. Truth be told, it's just the opposite. But then you have to step back and ask, "Is intelligence or talent or skill at something good?" Think about it this way, just because you're not as intelligent as Mozart or Einstein doesn't mean God doesn't love you, and it certainly doesn't stop you from your purpose as a human being (praising and glorifying God).

Ah. I just thought of a good topic for my next post....

Subscription

I just found this cool thing/program. If you want to subscribe to my posts via email, the just click the little thing at the bottom of this post. All you have to do is give it your email address, and it will email you my posts every time I post them. Nifty little thing. Don't ask why you'd want to get my posts by email. I don't know why. But I thought I'd give people the option.

Another Day

And here's another song. I think it turned out OK, even if it is a bit repetetive. I like the piano for the verse. That part was fun to make.

Here's the link to youtube if you can't see the video below:

Another Day

Another Song

Here is another song. I actually recorded it a while ago, right after the Dark Illusions one. I'm working on another which is almost finished, and I will post it when I finish. I find it quite fun writing music, and the singing adds a lot to it, even if I *do* have a terrible singing voice.

If you can't see the video I embeded on this page, then you can watch it on youtube. Here are the links.

Dark Illusions

Lost

To do or not to do...

So. Is secular music bad? Which movies are bad? should I hit my brother? Should I yell at my mom? Is this choclate bar gonna kill me?

These questions are all asking whether something is bad or not. In the modern Christian society, we focus everything on whether something is bad or not. If it's not bad, it's OK. Well, I was talking with my dad, and he had a revolutionary idea (at least for me). We focus on what NOT to do. Instead, we should be focusing on what we SHOULD be doing. What we do, is we look at things and label them according to how bad they are. Then we judge whether we can get by doing the things we like, without those things being too bad. We try to get by with doing as many 'bad' things as we can. Instead of focusing on the bad, we should be focusing on the good we should and could be doing.

Lately, I've also been thinking about giving and not taking. I think we need to stop concentrating on ourselves, and concentrate on other people and God. We have so much capacity to give, and yet we hoard our time, recources and money to ourselves. We need to stop being so caught up in ourselves and let God work through us. Of course I try to do what I just said (and fail miserably) but it makes me so angry when I think about how bad we (Society and even the Christian community) are defocused from God.

Niagra Falls

Today I visited Niagra falls on the Canadian side. It was the first time I've ever been out of the United States. Heh. It was funny, cause everything over there is in metric. Like kilometers p/hr and such. People in other countries are so much smarter... anyways, Wile looking at the falls, I wrote some observations down in a notebook. It sounds kind of cool, so here's me standing over the falls writing.


The water here has a cool color. It's like real aqua. I can hear the thunder of the water going over the falls. Throughout the river are whitecaps of water rushing towards the brink. Seaguls are flying around too. A thick mist of water bellows forth from the bottom, thinning as it goes up and travels from the falls. I can also see big rocks at the bottom.

Now I'm on a bridge over a little stream thing maybe 100 ft. from the falls.

Now I'm standing ten ft. from the brink watching the water pour down into the river. The water looks like liquid glass that's clear. It also smells really salty; almost like the sea. Now, on the Canada side, I can faintly feel the mist.

A Poem

Here's a poem I wrote recently... I thought it was interesting. And, surprisingly, it's not dark. Instead of trying to appeal to emotions, I tried conveying something resembling a message. It's also supposed to be a bit humorous. Not like the laugh sort but maybe more irony... I dunno. As of yet, it is untitled.



Many men live on this earth,
For some great fame is destined from birth
geniouses, warlords, conquerors, and kings
Fill volumes of history and other such things
Their deeds are those of which the bard sings
Sages ponder and think 'bout their lives
Historians compile and write great archives
Of every thing, in life they achieve
Of ever tiny creed they believe

Then there's the average farmer chap
Who's greatest decisions are whether to nap,
Who's jobs require nought but the strength
To plow a field, or measure it's length.

And yet, the geniouses crazily drink
Warlords slaughter millions without a blink,
Conquerors think themselves gods of love,
And kings... well... all the above

So, in the end, is it not much better
To smoke a pipe on the porch, wearing a sweater?
Is it not so much better, in life,
To honor God, one's children and wife?